2018 end of year releases

Saturday, 31 May 2014

How did you come to write speculative fiction? What attracted you to the genre?

I fell in love with speculative fiction when I was young. I loved reading gothic horror novels and stories based on mythological creatures of Celtic and Greek legends. I was the girl who watched Doctor Who and The Twilight Zone and Star Trek and The X Files. During my early teens I discovered fantasy books as well and I was hooked: mythology wrapped up in historical settings with the twist of being on different worlds! I couldn’t get enough. Tolkein, Anne McCaffrey, Raymond E Feist, Jani Wurst and many others filled my bookshelves, and they were joined by others with a more paranormal bent – Anne Rice, Barbara Erskine, Nora Roberts and so on. I most love reading series and so when I sat down to write, it was only natural that I gravitate toward the types of books that I love.

Are you a plotter? Pantser? Or somewhere in-between?

I am most definitely a pantser. I love the thrill of sitting down with a scene, an idea, a character in my head and seeing where it takes me. My current novel, Dark Moon, started out with just a scene where a guy knocks over a girl on a ski slope. I thought it was going to be a contemporary romance, but very soon, my characters were exhibiting magical and shapeshifter abilities and I knew the novel was going to be something else entirely. Although, I didn’t know exactly what that was until I finished it and could look back at what my characters had shown me. Writing a series though, I have to have an idea of an overall arc and find the threads that will carry through and hold the series together, so I do have a basic idea of where the series story is heading and some of the main plot points that will happen – although how I get there is still unknown to me.

Do have a favourite of your characters?

My favourite characters are always the ones I’m working on at the moment. When I was writing Killing Me Softly, Daemon and Lexi were my favourites, when I was writing Dark Moon, Skye and Jason were. I’ve just finished writing the next in the Dark Moon series, Healer Moon (which is currently with my editors for appraisal), and when I was writing it, the main characters were my favourite. I’m currently working on two books, the third in the Dark Moon series, Blood Moon, and another WIP, titled Seer’s Blood, so I vacillate between loving the leads in them. I also always have a tendre for my secondary characters too – probably because in the back of my mind, I’m coming up with a story that will be for them.

What is your favourite part of the process of writing?

I love writing the first draft of a story, where I’m just letting inspiration flow through me. It’s freeing and I lose vast swathes of time – luckily my family is there to bring me back from wherever I go. The redrafting is much harder, but there is something wonderful about that too; making sense of what my brain had vomited up in the first draft and trying to wrest it into something special.

What can we expect from Leisl Leighton in the future?

More books in the Dark Moon series and hopefully books in the Seer’s Blood series. I also have a pet project, the first thing I actually ever wrote, which is an urban fantasy paranormal with a strong fairy tale mythological bent. It is currently the overlong very raw draft of a first time writer, but I would love to go back to it and make it into what I always intended it to be. I originally wrote the first 2 books of that series, but got to a point where I realised it was getting too big and complicated for my skill level at that time, and so I put it down and concentrated on learning more about my craft so that I would one day be able to go back and do it justice. I’ve also got some more ideas for some romantic suspense novels.

Who are your favourite authors?

To add to the list above, I’d have to mention Nalini Singh, Anne Gracie, Rachelle Meade, Sherrilyn Kenyon and more recently Cassandra Claire and M.J. Scott.

What are you currently reading?

I am currently reading the latest Anne Gracie (I love her Regency Romances) and then I will be reading MJ Scott’s latest in the Half Light City series.

Do you have a favourite spec fiction movie or TV series?

How can I pick just one? I am a SyFy channel junkie. On my shelves I have all the Buffy The Vampire Slayer series (this was my first ‘couldn’t miss an episode’ series) and Angel, Babylon 5, Stargate SG1 and Atlantis, the Star Trek movies, Firefly, Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica, True Blood, Sanctuary, Once Upon a Time, The Vampire Diaries, all the Harry Potters, Twilights, Hunger Games, Game of Thrones, Torchwood and Teen Wolf. Most recently I’ve really enjoyed on TV Orphan Black, Continuum, Haven and Sleepy Hollow. My son and I are also big fans of all the Marvel movies, especially the X-Men (we’re watching one while I write this).

Do you have advice for emerging writers?

Keep working on your craft and write what you love. If you do those two things and just keep persisting, you will eventually end up with something to be proud of that others will see something special in too.

~~~

Thanks, Leisl!

Dark Moon blurb:

Lately, Skye Collins has been unable to shake the feeling that she's being watched. After a lifetime spent hiding her true nature, she knows that any unusual attention is something to be wary of. And the only attention she's been receiving lately is from the intense and attractive Jason McVale.

Jason claims to know things about Skye that can't be true, and it's obvious he's hiding secrets of his own. Yet despite herself, Skye can't resist the attraction between them, and her surrender will set in motion a chain of events that will have consequences for everyone she holds dear.

Gradually, Jason convinces Skye that she has to trust him if she is to solve the riddle of her past and learn the truth about her power. But believing Jason means that her entire life has been based on a lie.

As her enemies gather strength and the danger increases, Skye is forced to accept who she really is. Will she risk everything and fight for those she loves? Or save herself and let them be destroyed by the forces of darkness?

About the Author:

Leisl is a tall red head with an overly large imagination. As a child, she identified strongly with Anne of Green Gables. A voracious reader and a born performer, it came as no surprise to anyone when she did a double major in English Literature and Drama for her BA, then went on to a career as an actor, singer and dancer, as well as script writer, stage manager and musical director for cabaret and theatre restaurants (one of which she co-owned and ran for six years).

After starting a family, Leisl stopped performing and instead, began writing the stories that had been plaguing her dreams. Leisl's stories have won and placed in many competitions in Australia and the US, including the STALI, Golden Opportunities, Heart of the West, Linda Howard Award of Excellence, Touch of Magic and many others.

Leisl lives in the leafy suburbs of Melbourne with her two beautiful boys, lovely hubby, overly spunky dog, Buffy, and likes to spend time with family and friends. She sometimes sings in a choir and works as a swim teacher in her day-to-day job.

Leisl writes paranormal fantasy and romantic suspense. Her debut novel, Killing Me Softly, was released last year with Penguin’s Destiny Romance and her new paranormal novel Dark Moon has just been released.

Thursday, 29 May 2014

The DarkSiders write romance so they must all be women, right? Wrong. We do have men in our ranks. Today I talk to both J.M. Bray (an American DarkSider) and Daniel de Lorne (an Australian DarkSider living in Canada).Welcome Gentlemen! Thanks for taking the hot seat and talking to me today.

First of all, how did you come to write romance?

J.M.: By accident! I’d written a Fantasy Novel (Tearing the Shroud) and was querying it as that. While it is a Fantasy there’s also has a strong love story…in fact just about everything in the novel revolves around some form of love. I see that now, but when I wrote the novel I just wrote the story that was there and didn’t realise the strength of the love aspect. When Kate Cuthbert at Escape Publishing told me they wanted to release it as a Romantic Fantasy, the light clicked on for me.

Daniel: I just sort of fell into it. I'm not a big reader of romance fiction. I like paranormal and fantasy fiction, but being gay, I want to read about gay relationships. Because of that most paranormal or fantasy fiction that has a gay storyline tends to be classed as romance. Maybe eventually that will change. Until then I'm happy writing paranormal stories with romantic elements (and hot men).

(Eleni: I'm with you on the hot men!)

Was it daunting at all?

Daniel: Not really. What it comes down to is I do this for me. What is daunting is putting anything creative out there and then, once it is, watching the reviews come in. At the moment I'm a bit worried about future books and whether they'll fit within the genre. I'm recognising that as just "fear of the blank page" in another guise.

J.M.: Not really, because I’d stumbled into it. Book two of the Shroud Trilogy, Mending the Shroud, definitely was. There are certain expectations readers have in any genre and while I knew the Fantasy marks to hit, I had to learn the romantic tropes. Thank God for critique partners and a beyond patient editor!

(Eleni: there's nothing like a great CP.)

Was it daunting to put yourself out there as a romance writer when 95% of the romance writers are women?

J.M.:Somewhat. In one respect, people are people, with various capacities to love, lust and lose, but in another there are times when I feel out of place. Not that the women writers are doing anything intentionally to cause it, quite the opposite, they’ve been very welcoming. However, if we just look at your statistic…when you are part of the 5% minority, sometimes you feel like a radish among a bouquet of white roses.

(Eleni: haha, not really a scientific statistic - something I extrapolated. That is, I guessed.)

Daniel: I didn't think too much about it to be honest. I just wanted to get out there. I know I'm the odd man out (no pun intended) but it's not worth worrying about.

Have you experienced any prejudice toward you from other writers or readers?

Daniel: None. And the support I've gotten from being a member of Romance Writers of Australia has been great, and I think a good buffer too. All the other authors I talk to have been really supportive as well.

J.M.: While I’ve found the occasional prejudicial comment or blog post about male writers in romance, none of it has ever been directed at me personally. The community has greeted me with open arms.

Daniel, you were the only man at the RWA conference in 2010. What was the strangest experience of that conference? J.M., have you had any experience where you were the only man at conference?

J.M.: Being in the US with my publisher based in Australia has certain challenges. So, I’ve yet to attend a conference, but I’m looking forward to it.

(Eleni: well worth the trip AND you get to meet so many of the DarkSiders)

Daniel:
Being asked to be interviewed by a journo from the Sydney Morning Herald. I went through with it but I was nervous, being relatively new to the organisation and the romance genre. I got a request from a publisher out of it though, so that was definitely worth it. Just being there was a lot of fun and it did feel a bit like being a rock star. I've made some great connections in RWA because of it too.

(Eleni: I remember that, Daniel. Talk about pressure.)

What is the advantage of being a man who writes romance?

Daniel: I'm not sure there's much of an advantage. Having a "male" perspective might help a bit with writing from a male's point of view, but that's problematic anyway. How do you define a man? And on the flipside, it kind of infers that I couldn't write female characters because I don't have the right bits. The best we can all hope for is authenticity in how it all comes out and it doesn't take body parts to do that, just a bit of insight.

(Eleni: Good point, Daniel.)

J.M.: In writing, I believe it’s my perspective as a man. In general, I prefer the company of women, so I feel right at home.

Of course, you don’t only write romance, but are also paranormal writers. What attracted you to this subgenre?

J.M.: My reading life. I cut my teeth on fantast, sci-fi and horror. Books are a place of retreat for me, a chance to lose myself. If the story centers on things beyond normal reality, that escape becomes easier. When I write, my mind defaults to something fantastic for the same reason.

Daniel: I've always had an interest in the paranormal, even since I
was little. I like creating characters and worlds that operate out of the
ordinary. I find it fun and a bit of break from real life.

Does your other half support your writing romance?

Daniel: Absolutely. He's waiting for me to sell a million copies so he can retire (like that's ever going to happen). He's happy when I'm happy, so yes, I get a lot of support from him. He's the one who tells new people we meet that I'm an author, whereas I haven't quite settled into calling myself that yet. Luckily he really enjoyed Beckoning Blood or else there'd be trouble.

(Eleni: LOL - I think we all have people in our lives who are going to retire on our earnings from writing)

J.M.: Completely. She claims it’s impossible for me not to write romance because according to her I’m, ‘the most romantic man in the world.’ Yeah… I’m a lucky man.

(Eleni: awwww)

What is the most memorable thing you yourself have done in the name of romance?

Daniel: That would have to be my marriage proposal. I'm not all that romantic in every day life but I organised a very memorable proposal (it involved giraffes and zebras) which left my partner speechless and more than a little pissed off that I'd pipped him to the post.

(Eleni: Love that, Daniel! and the competitiveness)

J.M.: The most? That’s tough. I’ll let you chose from a short list: Taking her out for a Saturday morning drive then heading to Las Vegas instead (I’d packed clothes without her knowing). Having a ruby ring, perched on a chocolate dipped strawberry, served by flight attendants on a jet to France. Arranging a surprise renewing of wedding vows on our 25th anniversary. Hmm, maybe I am romantic.

J.M.: I’m going to go with femspiration if that’s ok. Monica Bellucci…mmmhmm.(Eleni: more than okay)

Daniel: I've noticed that I don't spend much time on descriptions in my writing so while I sometimes pick an actor or model in the beginning, I rarely refer back to them. I also don't want to get the actor (or their character) mixed up with my character. BUT give me Chris Hemsworth, Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Hiddleston any day.

The quickie questions...

Star Trek or Star Wars?

J.M.: Star Wars (Which I saw as a teen in the theatre the week it released.)

Daniel: If you put a gun to my head, Star Trek. Only because I don't think I've ever seen all the Star Wars all the way through.

(Eleni: now we don't want to be putting guns to anyone's heads.)

The Simpsons or Family Guy?

J.M.:Simpsons. Doh!

Daniel: Love both but I grew up with The Simpsons

Dogs or Cats?

J.M.: Dogs

Daniel: Cats

Twitter or Facebook?

J.M.: Twitter

Daniel: Facebook

Plotter or Pantser?

J.M.: Pantser

Daniel: Pantser

(Eleni: Pantsers unite!)

PS or Wii?

J.M.: Pffft… Xbox One!

(Eleni: hahaha - oops left that out didn't i, says she of the not so knowledgable about game consoles)

Daniel: Ummmm...PS. Because of Singstar (not that I've got a PS or any console)

(Eleni: does that mean you're a karaoke fan?)

Wonder Woman or Cat Woman?

J.M.: Cat Woman

Daniel: Cat Woman

(Eleni: I'm a Wonder Woman girl myself)

Superman or Thor?

J.M.: For the movie, Superman. The comic Thor (though who I REALLY liked was Elektra!)

Daniel: Oh geez. Which incarnation of Superman? I'll go for Thor, because he's big and dumb.

and finally, what is your dream car?

J.M.: A street legal, race prepped, 2012 Porsche Cayman R with the 3.4L engine Macadamia Metallic paint with matching interior. That said, I race a ’87 Porsche 924S that I know gives me as many smiles per mile as the Cayman would.

(Eleni: you speed racer, you.)

Daniel: Aston Martin, shaken not stirred.

(Eleni: classic car)

Thanks very much to you both! Was great getting to chat and learning more about you two.

~~~

J.M. Bray lives in Southern California with his college sweetheart and their two dogs. After a lifetime together, they are happier than the moment they met.

When not writing or working his "day job", he loves to cook, play the guitar, and travel with his wife. Every chance he gets, he races an old Porsche named "Tuffy" at tracks in the southwest.

The second in the fresh, exciting romantic fantasy Shroud trilogy takes up where Tearing the Shroud leaves off – with the lives, the loves, and the mythical world beyond our own.

After accepting bodily possession and saving the world, Vincent thought his life would get easier. He thought wrong.

The Shroud may not have torn wide open, but it did tear a little, and the retribution for the failure is coming hard, fast, and directly at Vincent and the people he loves.

His only hope is to once again accept possession from Coleman and do battle with the deformed, terrifying Kafla. But this time, he's not alone. Jule, the woman he loves and hopes to marry, is possessed as well, and together the four of them become a formidable team.

Together they hope to stave off the invasion and take the fight to the Realm, but only a supreme sacrifice can mend the Shroud and save both their lives and their worlds.

Daniel de Lorne writes mostly about the loves and trials of hot and sexy paranormal men – and creatures. He grew up in Perth, Western Australia, and developed a fascination for the mythical and magical early on. Daniel wrote stories from a young age but it was high school biology class he remembers fondly as providing an excellent cover for writing stories that were filled with teen angst and fantastical creatures. He now lives in Canada with his partner. It was while in this great northern frontier that Escape Publishing accepted his first book, Beckoning Blood, for publication.

A gripping, blood‐drenched saga about twin brothers, the men they love, and the enduring truth that true love never dies – no matter how many times you kill it.

Thierry d’Arjou has but one escape from the daily misery of his work at a medieval abattoir – Etienne de Balthas. But keeping their love a secret triggers a bloody chain of events that condemns Thierry to a monstrous immortality. Thierry quickly learns that to survive his timeless exile, he must hide his sensitive heart from the man who both eases and ensures his loneliness...his twin brother.

Shaped by the fists of a brutal father, Olivier d’Arjou cares for only two things: his own pleasure and his twin. But their sadistic path through centuries is littered with old rivals and new foes, and Olivier must fight for what is rightfully his – Thierry, made immortal just for him.

I
love all my children equally, of course. Erm… well, it's not true, really is
it? We do have favourites, even in our own writing. My heroine, Verity, is
loads of fun because she doesn't understand subtlety. She tends to blurt out
whatever's on her mind, and sometimes it's tastelessly inappropriate. So yeah.
Kind of like me :)

But
I also love her lads. There's her big brother, Adonis, who acts like an
arrogant playboy but has this squishy heart of gold underneath… or is that all
part of the act, too? And Verity's new friend, Glimmer. Glimmer is a mysterious
masked man. Oyy.

What
inspired you to write it?

I
love crime-fighting superheroes! We actually have a lot of these in urban
fantasy – plenty of investigators and enforcers and kick-ass ladies – but
they're just not called that. The ones in my book are a bit more open about it.
Possibly, there are masks and costumes and secret identities involved. You were
warned… (But no capes. I draw the line at capes.)

And
I've always wanted to write a conspiracy story – one where nothing it what it
seems and the truth is hard to unearth and harder to swallow. I hope I've
succeeded!

And here's the excerpt!

Here's a scene from Scorched, where Verity, who's just escaped from a lunatic asylum and is on the run from villains who are trying to put her back there, wakes up trapped in a strange secret lair…

A double row of screens gleamed—websites, television channels, CCTV—above a long desk covered in a mess of paper and photographs six inches deep. In a high-backed chair hunched a long lean figure, his shadow looming huge and monstrous on the wall.

He didn't stop typing. Didn't look up. Just jerked his head towards the corner of the room. "Door's that way."

So much for stealth. I cleared my throat, and stepped out where he could see me. But I still clasped my hands tightly behind my back, ready. "Excuse me?"

"You can leave whenever you want. I won't stop you. No need to break things." His voice was rough and rich, like old bourbon. His battered leather coat hung over the back of his wheeled chair. He finished whatever he was doing, and swung his chair around, skidding into the light.

Strong, lean, the same tight black T-shirt and jeans he'd worn before. A few days of beard shadowed his chin, dark against his olive skin, and his wild black hair had a single albino splash at the front. He wore a leather band buckled around one wrist, and a silver ring on his right ring finger.

Intriguing. Younger than I'd expected, for a guy who'd sent a gang of haters screaming. Warmer, somehow. I wanted to see the rest of his face.

But I couldn't. He wore a mask. A black one, like mine, tied at the back of his head and cut around sharp cheekbones that made him look feral or crazy. All I could see were his eyes, deep and starlit black.

Uh-huh. I wanted to fidget. Handsome devil, to be sure. The crazies often are, in that offbeat, intriguing sort of way. It's a rule of the universe, or something. Sick equals sexy.

But suddenly I was conscious of my scarred cheek, my bruises, the fact that I was wearing his shirt and nothing else.

I dragged in a fistful of power and swept a pile of books off his desk. "That's close enough."

Paper drifted in dust, and settled. He didn't move. Just glanced at the mess I'd made, and then back at me. His black-and-white hair stuck up in odd directions, like a skunk who'd partied too hard. He reminded me of my little brother Chance, only Chance was cheerful and careless. This guy looked neither. "Threat taken," he said calmly. "You done?"

I studied him, wary. No reaction. No move to retaliate. Whatever his augment was, he was keeping it holstered for now. Was that stripe in his hair real? He didn't seem the type to make like a skunk. "For the moment," I said at last. "But you'll talk, or maybe I will start breaking stuff. Starting with you. Who are you?"

"You can call me Glimmer."

I recalled my assailants, clawing for their eyeballs though nothing was there. Glimmer. A hypnosis trick, maybe? "Is that what your friends call you?"

"I don't have any friends." He folded his arms, and muscles bulged in the sleeves of his T-shirt.

"Figures. You always wear your mask in the house, Glimmer?"

"I have a guest. It's only polite… oh, wait." He stuffed a hand into his back pocket and offered me a little black bundle. "This was in your jeans. I kept it for you."

My mask. I snatched it, careful not to touch him, and unrolled it, enjoying the warm softness in my fingers. It smelled of him, vanilla and danger.

Okay. So he knew I was augmented. I knew the same about him. Not a recipe for friendship.

Glimmer smiled, bittersweet. "Don't mention it."

Thanks for sharing Erica and BTW, I don't mind a good cape. :p

If you want to find out more about Erica and what she's up to, or want to buy a copy of Scorched Check out the links below!

Have you ever read a book based in a certain time and place and been inspired to write something? This happened to me when I read the book The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant. It is based in Renaissance Italy. It has intrigue, politics, romance, death, religion, the Medici’s and Leonardo Da Vinci. (read my review on Goodreads)

I don’t write historical romance and have always had my feet firmly in the speculative fiction camp. That aside I really wanted to write a paranormal romance that was based in a world similar to 14th century Italy. My solution was to have a book where the heroine was transported to another world. This allowed me to make up the things I wanted to, but still have a base in something that looked like Italy.

The book became World Change.

Have you ever read a book and thought you would like to write something based in a similar world?

Clare gets transported from present day Florence to an alternate world, one that looks like fourteenth century Italy. The only way back is through a portal half a world away, plus the local High priestess wants her dead, and the only one she can trust is a vampire called Trevi. He is the only one who exits in this world, and she knows more about what he is than he does. He is hard to resist, especially when he saves her life. Trevi can take her home but he is keeping one big secret. She will have to be like him to survive the journey through the portal back to her world making a myth a reality.

I live in Adelaide Australia and I am a member of Romance Writers of Australia, and the local chapter SARA (South Australian Romance Authors). I recently completed a Bachelor of Arts in Drama, English and Creative Writing. I have had a short story published in the RWA Topaz Anthology Little Gems in 2010 called Sea and Vines. I have had an erotic novella called Blood Scent published in July 2013 by Rogue Phoenix Press. I also have a paranormal romance called Hidden Mortality published February 2014 by Soul Mate Publishing. World Change is the first book in the Earthbound Trilogy.

Tuesday, 20 May 2014

Kelly Ethan has signed a contract with Totally Bound Publishing for a novella, the first in a paranormal series. With a possible publication date of early October. The book is titled Miss Predictable and is Greek Gods set in Las Vegas.

Nicole Murphy (aka me!)has signed a contract with Escape Publishing for a science fiction romance trilogy. The first book, Loving the Prince, is out August 1. Here's the cover and blurb:

Cassandra Wiltmore is the heir to the throne of Rica, but it's unlikely she'll be stepping up any time soon. So she spends her days managing and building the Rican Balcite Mining Company. The company has made her family wealthy beyond imagination, but that kind of power needs careful control, and Cassandra is just the Wiltmore to control it.

When a new bid for the mining license is announced, Cassandra is determined to squash it. Then the thefts begin, and the threats, and every step she takes seems to be wrong. Taking on a new protector seems like an indulgence she can't afford, but she equally cannot afford to be caught off-guard. If only the best man for the job wasn't also the best-looking man she's ever seen.

Kernan Radaton has ambition, and as protector to Cassandra Wiltmore, he's well-placed to reach all his long-held goals. If only his new all-business boss didn't make him think of only pleasure. With the company, the heir, and the family under attack, the last thing anyone needs is a distraction. But once everything is safe again, Kernan is developing new ambitions – ones that involve a lot of very personal time spent getting to know his boss on a very personal level.

Here's S.E.Gilchrist's post, which details (and links to) two virtual donation baskets which include some awesome critiques for RWA writers and the other basket has 34 e-books up for grabs, again from RWA writers (many of whom are Darksiders).